Chapter 56: A Tiger in the Lowlands is Bitten by Dogs

"This day has come after all, though I never expected it would arrive so soon."

In the nation of Yi, the aged Celestial Master, dressed like an old farmer and carrying a blood-stained hoe, raised his eyes to gaze at the great sun hanging in the sky, speaking in a low voice.

Three years ago, when the heavens and earth underwent a drastic transformation and the God-Worshiping Cult emerged overnight, all of this had told him that this day would eventually come, and that those entities would descend upon Mystic Star.

He simply had not expected that in a mere three years, they would already descend.

He, and even a few other God-Seeing martial artists, had traveled across various nations for the sole purpose of hunting down and slaying the members of the God-Worshiping Cult who performed blood sacrifices, thereby delaying the time of the enemy's descent.

Yet now, it seemed all of this had been in vain. Their actions had apparently achieved nothing.

Now, the great sun spanned the firmament, shrouding the entire world.

As a God-Seeing martial artist, he naturally possessed extraordinary abilities.

Yet looking up at this moment, he found that he was completely unable to sense the opponent's power.

All of this indicated that the terror of the entity far exceeded his imagination.

A God-Seeing martial artist naturally possessed the ability to court good fortune and avoid calamity, but within his mind at this moment, he felt that whether ahead or behind, left or right, in the heavens or on the earth, there was only utter darkness.

It seemed that there was nowhere to escape, neither in heaven nor on earth.

"While I still have a shred of resistance left, I must go and slaughter those running dogs first, or else it will be impossible to quell the fury in my heart."

The aged Celestial Master's own divine intent erupted. Capturing those wisps of spiritual energy lingering between heaven and earth granted him a brief moment of resistance, preventing him from being instantly contaminated.

With a shift of his steps, the old Celestial Master vanished from sight within the span of a few breaths.

...

Great Xuan, Xuanwu Temple.

At this moment, Daoist Master Qingwei no longer sought out the God-Worshiping Cult, having returned here from the overseas nations.

Daoist Master Qingwei stood within the main hall, with the solemn statue of Zhenwu standing to his left.

Before the statue, however, a young daoist was kneeling.

Daoist Master Qingwei waved his horsetail whisk; the whisk, originally as fine as silver threads, now bore a somewhat turbid hue.

His immortal-like face looked down upon the young daoist before him, his eyes filled with a rare complexity.

"Qingheng, do you really intend to go?!"

"Such an entity transcends imagination. Even if I am a God-Seeing martial artist, a martial myth of Mystic Star, I am by no means its match."

"If you do not go, there may still be a sliver of hope for survival. If you go, then truly..."

Daoist Master Qingwei did not finish his sentence, because what remained unsaid was entirely clear not only to him, but also to the young Qingheng before him.

Even nearly ten thousand Dongfeng-1 missiles could not stir the slightest ripple or even approach the enemy; what difference would Qingheng make by going?

"Qingheng, you are a child with a true affinity for the Dao whom it took this old Daoist a great deal of effort to find, and you are my designated successor as the next abbot of Xuanwu Temple! If you go like this, Xuanwu Temple will be left without anyone to carry on its legacy!"

"Perhaps... I should let this old Daoist go instead!"

Daoist Master Qingwei looked with complex emotions at the child before him.

The young daoist, Qingheng, merely sighed softly at these words and shook his head.

"Master, you know that ever since the heavens and earth changed three years ago, this sword of our Patriarch gained spirituality and resonated deeply with me."

"Even you fall slightly short and cannot unleash the full power of this blade. Therefore, I am the most suitable one to go."

"Alas!"

"Three years is simply too short. Although I do not know why this Zhenwu Demon-Subduing Sword underwent a mutation and seemed to gain sentience..."

"It has only just begun to form, and over the past three years, it has been in a constant state of transformation without pause. It has not yet reached its limit. Given enough time, it would surely advance even further in the future."

"Right now, I'm afraid it cannot contend with the enemy, and might not even be able to inflict a scratch upon them. Why put yourself through this?"

"As long as the green hills remain, there's no need to worry about firewood."

"Given enough time, this Demon-Subduing Sword will undoubtedly possess unimaginable power in the future, enough to let you turn the tides and sweep away all evil."

Daoist Master Qingwei tried to persuade him.

"Master, I'm afraid that if we miss this chance, there will be no other."

"We might not necessarily survive."

"Besides, the Patriarch's sword is a sword for subduing demons. Now that evil spirits run rampant, how can we shrink back?"

Qingheng said with an earnest expression.

As Qingheng spoke, the ancient sword, whose hilt was entwined with black and white qi atop the Zhenwu divine statue, let out a piercing chime.

It seemed to voice its unwillingness.

At that very moment, the Zhenwu Demon-Subduing Sword trembled slightly, and a monstrous aura of stern killing intent filled the entire hall.

"I can only hope you truly are a divine treasure bestowed by the Patriarch's manifestation."

Daoist Master Qingwei looked at the Demon-Subduing Sword upon the divine statue with a complex expression.

Then, casting his gaze back at the child before him, he let out a long sigh.

"Disciple Qingheng pays respects to the Patriarch, and today borrows the Patriarch's sword to subdue demons!"

Qingheng's voice suddenly echoed within the grand hall.

Instantly, the ancient sword chimed resonantly, as if cheering and leaping with joy.

Witnessed by Daoist Master Qingwei, Qingheng shouldered the ancient sword and walked out into the mountains.

...

Great Xuan, Ruyi Temple.

Before the golden statue of the Buddha, a young novice monk looked distractedly at the old monk chanting scriptures before him.

"Master, hurry up!"

"I still need to borrow the Buddha's golden statue. You couldn't have chanted earlier or later, but you just had to chant right now—this really is..."

The young novice muttered endlessly to himself.

"Alas!"

"This poor monk has chanted scriptures for a lifetime and worshipped the Buddha for a lifetime. Why have I never gained the recognition of the Buddha statue?"

"Yet you brat, with all your worldly attachments, how did you manage to win the golden statue's approval?"

"Could it be that back when this poor monk descended the mountain to exterminate demons and protect the Dao, I killed too many?"

"Amitabha."

"This poor monk had no choice back then! Why won't you understand, Buddha?"

An old monk in tattered kasaya was holding a string of prayer beads, muttering something before the Buddha statue.

"You really intend to go?"

"Although the Buddha's golden statue possesses spirituality and can grant you the power of the golden body, the time has been far too short. Compared to that great sun, there is still a vast gap."

"Master, perhaps the Buddha's golden statue approved of me back then precisely to vanquish this demonic entity from beyond the heavens. How could I easily give it up?"

With that, ignoring his scripture-chanting master, the young novice walked up to the Buddha statue, raised one hand, hoisted the massive golden statue—cast entirely of solid bronze and gold—onto his back, and strode outside.

Such a Buddha statue was something not even a God-Seeing martial artist could necessarily move, yet in the hands of this young novice, it seemed as light as nothing.

Great Xuan, Myriad Beasts Martial Dojo.

A young man wearing sunglasses raised his head to gaze into the sky.

"Elder Zhong, are you truly confident you can block the other party?"

"Hah!"

"You brat, back in my prime, even if an evil god like this were ten times stronger, it wouldn't be enough for me to beat."

"Though I cannot unleash my full power right now, just blocking them for a moment is still within my capability."

"I only wonder whether this petty evil god is hell-bent on taking this ancient planet of life. If so, things might get difficult."

"Alas!"

"How the mighty have fallen, bullied even by dogs!"

A faint sigh echoed within the young man's mind.